Edge finish for rugs



EDGE FINISH FOR RUGS Filed July 50, 1931 JNVENTOR'.

2 BB B i BYJohnPl/Ws's.

E? `AHORA/15x98? Patented pr. 3,1934

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE EDGE FINISH FOR RUGS Application July 30, 1931, Serial N0. 553,922

15 oiaims.

This invention relates to rugs or other articles of manufacture such as carpets, seat covers, mats, cushions, chair covers or other articles in which a strong, durable edge finish is necessary to prevent the ends or edges from frayng even under severe usage, the object of the invention being to provide an edge finish for such articles that will be attractive, durable, inexpensive and easily applied and which will be partially concealed 1o from view, while giving a strong hold on the materials to support fringe, lace, binding, tape or cords to reinforce the edges of such articles.

Another object of the invention is the provision of an edge finish for all kinds of sewed articles that will reinforce the material itself, by a combination of stitches including a covering or cross stitch in which a plurality of rows of the needle stitches will be hidden from view by the pile of the fabric and will also have a deep bite into the article away from the edge, but yet so connected to the edge as to prevent pulling out of the warp or woof threads of the article.

Another object of the invention is the provision of an improved edge protection formed of stitches, part of which overlays and covers the edge margins of the top and bottom faces of the article with part of the stitches passing through the warp and Woof threads of the article and other stitches of the same group passing also through the pile of the article and which may also be used to secure to the upper and lower faces of the article, a tape, fringe, lace or binding, simultaneously with the stitching.

In the drawing accompanying and forming a. part of this specification, I have illustrated my improved edge finish as applied to rugs and carpets, but it is understood that the improvements are useful for any articles requiring a strong, decorative edge trim, including grass mats, or rugs, and all that class of articles used for oor, chair, seat coverings-also other articles for household use, and some kinds of wearing apparel. I, therefore, do not wish to limit the invention to what is shown for the purpose of illus- 45 trating a few embodiments thereof.

Figure 1 is a perspective view of rug material showing the stitch covering the edge and having a deep bight into the pile of the rug;

Figure 2 is an end view of Fig. 1;

Figure 3 illustrates the stitch, securing a fringe to the top edge and a tape to the bottom edge with concealed stitches secured deep into the pile of the article or rug; and

Figure 4 illustrates the stitch applied to a rug and securing a binding through which all of the needle stitches pass on the bottom, while only a portion of the top stitches pass through the binding which covers the top of the edge of the rug.

Similar characters of reference indicate corre- G0 sponding parts in the several views.

Before explaining in detail the present improvement and mode of operation thereof, I desire to have it understood that the invention is not limited to the details of construction and arrangement of parts which Aare illustrated. in the accompanying drawing since the invention is capable of other embodiments, and that the phraseology which I employ is for the purpose of description and not of limitation. 7o

In the manufacture of rugs, the pile does not always extend to the start and finish of the rug but a margin is left along the pile, but when it does, the rugs are run through a shearing or cutting machine which trims the pile away for about a quarter of an inch or more from theedge of the rug. It is to this thin portion or margin of the rug that the overstitch in the present iinprovement is applied. Consequently, the adjacent pile of the rug stands above thisoverstitch, as illustrated in Fig. l of the drawing and protects the overstitch.

In those cases where rugs and 'carpets .are overstitched without removing the pile, the wear comes directly on the overstitch and it soon gives way. In fact, it is the4 rst part of the rug to give out and that is why, in the present improvement, the overstitch is applied to the margin having either no pile or from which the pile has been removed in the manner set forth.

To prevent the overstitch from tearing away because it is a narrow overstitch the threads of the remaining needle rows are drawn down through and between the pile of the fabric and concealed thereby and are concatenated with the l looper threads extending from one-half to one inch from the edge of the rug thus anchoring the overstitch securely against tearing away.

Thus, in the present improvement, the overstitch is shown co-operating with a pair of rows of needle stitches along the thinner margin of the rug while the needle stitches of the remaining rows are drawn down within the adjacent pile and concealed thereby, the needle stitches of all the rows, however, being anchored on the bottom of the rug and thereby materially assisting in holding the covering stitches in place. The present improvement has to do primarily with the application of stitches in such way as to produce a new finish resulting in a more beautiful and du- 110 rable edge finish whereby, articles having such trim will not pull out, fray, ravel, or strip the warp from the woof threads.

This improved edge finish is especially useful for renishing old rugs and carpets. Rug cleaning establishments have been in need of such a stitch to restore the worn edges of rugs and carpets, for regardless of how well their cleaning job has been done, the edges must be in good order before the job is completed for acceptance by its owner. With this improved finish, the edges can be restored so as to last the life of the article.

In the drawing the woof or cross threads are designated as 1, the warp threads as 2 and the pile of the fabric of the rug or carpet as 3.

When woven materials are cut, the edges fray out and to prevent this the edges must be hemmed folded over and stitched. This doubles the thickness and forms an objectionable thickness. To bind the edge with a tape requires sewing thereof some distance from the edge to ensure strength and prevent the pulling oi and this wide binding is expensive and too conspicuous. Overstitching is used, but the widest finish is about to 1/2 and while this form of stitch has been extensively used, it does not last for long before the life of the article is ended, the edge gives away and unless repairs are promptly made, the fraying will rapidly destroy the rug or carpet.

With this improved stitch for iinishing the edges, a narrow covering or cross stitch D with two needle threads A may be used passing through the woof 1 and warp threads 2 close to the pile 3. The pile adjacent thereto protects this cover stitching, the wear coming directly on the pile projecting thereabove. Such a narrow covering stitch on the edge would be useless were it not for the other stitches securing the same as it would not hold and therefore anchor stitches A1 A2 A3 are used the needle stitches of which, however, are spaced apart, pass through and are concealed by the pile. When these stitches are placed, the pile is spread to form a path or channel to permit the staples of the needle thread stitches to darw down tight on to the bends 4 of the pile 3 or in between as the stitching proceeds. Thus, it will be seen that the width of the stitch may be very wide on the bottom of the article, yet only a narrow margin will show on the top thereof when the rug or carpet is in use.

I have shown the edge finish made with five needle threads, but the stitch is not limited to any number of needles, threads, spacing or width of stitching. and a covering stitch concatenated With the two outer rows of needle threads and five looper threads anchoring the needle threads.

Thus in the present instance the looper threads B co-act with the needle threads to hold the stitches in place which are so concatenated with the needle threads A to form a tight binding structure securing the woof and warp together as a selvage and in this improved edge finish made with strong threads, ten threads are used to form a part of the stitch shown. five needle threads and five looper threads, and eleven another part thereof in the cross thread or covering stitch is used and are so placed with respect to the fabric structure as to tightly bind all the elements together, the needle threads A forming vertical staples through the fabric, while the looper threads B form triangles C at right angles to the needle threads A and thus provide an anchorage structure, each element of which will grip and hold within the limits of the thread Strength and tension, the entire portions of the rug or carpet that they are in contact with and thus secure the intermediate members to make a secure edge finish.

Fig. 3 shows how a fringe E may be stitched on the top face and a tape F stitched on the bottom face of a rug. Here the top covering stitch thread D is laid on top of the fringe heading G. The edge H of the rug lies between the tape F and heading G. An edge finish of this character cannot be made with the so-called covering stitch because the spreader for carrying the over stitch up and over the edge would destroy the fringe.

Rugs having a fringe as an edge finish are subjected to extra strains because of the pull on the fringe but the deep anchorage of the needle stitch indicated by L in Fig. 3 which when applied to a rug is invisible, being hidden by the pile, offers the necessary resistance to hold the fringe against the most severe usage, that is to say, the staples made by the needle -threads passing down between the pile of the rug are anchored by the looper threads on the bottom face of the rug, which lies against the floor when the rug is in place for use. The rows of needle thread stitches are hidden from view by the pile fabric as shown in the various figures. Consequently, the needle threads on top are not subjected to any wear and the rows of stitches passing through the pile of the rug prevent the stitches which bind the edge of the rug, forming a binding or fringe nish, from pulling or tearing away from the body of the rug.

In Fig. 4 a binding tape I is folded over the edge of the article prior to or simultaneously with the placing of the stitches. This shows a narrow overlaying portion J and a wide portion K on the bottom face securely held in place by the stitches.

AThis edge nish gives great strength and wearing endurance to the rug or article so finished.

I may also introduce soft yarns under the stitches for padding and to form a cushion over which to lay the stitches in case there is no binding tape, or fringe used, though the use of filler yarns is optional.

It is to be understood that, by describing in detail herein any particular form, structure or arrangement, it is not intended to limit the invention beyond the terms of the several claims or the requirements of the prior art.

Having thus explained the nature of my said invention and described a way of constructing and using the same, although without attempting to set forth all of the forms in which it maybe made or all of the modes of its use,

I claim:

1. A rug or other article having an edge finish comprising a series of rows of needle stitches concatenated with spaced anchoring looper threads forming a wide covering stitch on one side of the article, the cuter rows of needle stitches concatenated with an overstitch to form a narrow covering stitch on the opposite side of the article, a majority of the rows of needle stitches being inside of the narrow covering stitch.

2. A rug or other article having an edge finish comprising a series of rows of needle stitches concatenated with spaced anchoring looper threads forming a wide covering stitch on one side of the article, the outer rows of needle stitches concatenated with an overstitch to form a narrow covering stitch on the opposite side of the article, a majority of the rows of needle stitches being inside of the narrow covering stitch, and thev anchoring looper threads having a triangular formation at right angles to the needle threads and through which the needle loops pass and through which needle loops, strands of the looper threads pass.

3. A rug or other article having anedge nish comprising a narrow overstitch on the pile side and a wider covering stitch on the bottom, the needle stitches of a majority of the inner rows thereof going through the pile and concealed thereby.

4. A rug or other article having a pile spaced inwardly from the edges of the rug and forming a thin margin along the pile and having an edge nish comprising a narrow overstitch along the thin edge on the pile side and a wide covering stitch on the bottom including spaced anchored stitches.

5. A rug or other article having a pile spaced inwardly from the edges of the rug and forming a thin margin along the pile and having an edge iinish comprising a narrow overstitch along the thin edge on the pile side and a wide covering stitch on the bottom including spaced anchored stitches, the needle stitches of a plurality of the inner rows thereof going through the pile and concealed thereby.

6. A rug or other article having a pile spaced inwardly from the edges of the rug and forming a thin margin along the pile and having an edge nish comprising a narrow overstitch along the thin edge on the pile side and a wide covering stitch on the bottom including spacedanchored stitches, the needle stitches of a majority of the inner rows going through the pile and 'concealed thereby.

7. A rug or other article having a marginal portion thinner than the pile thereof and having an edge finish comprising a plurality of rows of needle threads, anchoring looper threads through which the needle loops pass and through which needle loops, strands of the looper threads pass, and a covering stitch on the thin marginal portion and co-operating with the outer rows only of the needle threads.

8. A rug or'other larticle having a marginal portion thinner than the pile portion thereof and having an edge finish comprising a plurality of rows of needle threads, anchoringlocper threads through which the needle loops pass and through which needle loops, strands of the looper threads pass, and a covering stitch on the thin marginal portion and co-operating with the outer rows only of the needle threads, the inner rows of needle stitches being drawn down and concealed by the pile of the fabric.

9. A rug or other article having an edge nish comprising a plurality of rows of needle threads, anchoring looper threads through which the needle loops pass and through which needle loops, strands of the looper threads pass, and a covering stitch co-operating with the outer rows only of needle threads, the inner rows of needle stitches being drawn down and concealed bythe pile of the fabric.

10. A rug or other article having a marginal portion thinner than the pile portion thereof and having an edge finish comprising a plurality of rows of needle threads, anchoring looper threads of triangular formation at right angles' to the needle threads through which the needle loops pass and through which needle loops, strands of the looper threads pass, and a covering stitch on the thin marginal portion of the rug and cooperating with the outer rows only of needle threads, the inner rows of needle stitches being drawn down and concealed by the pileY of the fabric.

ll. A rug or other article having an edge nish comprising a` plurality of rows of needle threads, anchoring looper threads of triangular formation at right angles to the needle threads through which the needle loops pass and through which needle loops, strands of the looper threads pass, and a covering stitch co-operating with the outer rows only of the needle threads, the inner rows of needle stitches being drawn down and concealed by the pile of the fabric.

l2. A rug or other article having a pile and a thinner marginal edge and an edge finish comprising a plurality of rows of needle threads,

anchoring looper threads through which the needie loops pass and through which needle loops, strands of the looper threads pass, a covering stitch over the thin marginal portion of the rug and co-operating with thel outer rows of needle threads with the stitches of the remaining rows drawn down within the pile and concealed thereby, and a finishing material stitched to the article by the combination of stitches.

13. A rug or other article comprising a series of rows of needle threads, a series of anchoring looper threads through which the needle loops pass and through which needle loops, strands of the looper threads pass. and a covering stitch cooperating with a plurality of rows of needle threads, the remaining rows of needle stitches being drawn down within the pile and concealed thereby.

14. A rug or other article having an edge n ish comprising a series of rows of needle stitches concatenated with spaced anchoring looper threads forming a wide covering stitch on one side of the article, the outer rows of needle stitches concatenated with an overstitch to form a narrow covering stitch on the opposite side of the article, a majority of the rows of needle stitches being inside of the narrow covering stitch, and a nishing material stitched to the article by the combination of stitches.

l5. A rug or other article having an edge riish comprising a series of rows of needle stitches concatenated with spaced anchoring looper threads forming a wide covering stitch on one side of the article, the outer rows of needle stitches concatenated with an overstitch to form a narrow covering stitch on the opposite side of. the

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